The history of the Shairwan name began with the ancient
Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from the baptismal name for the
son of Sherwin. [1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6) Alternatively the name could have been from the Old English word Scirwine (bright, friend); a
nickname for a fast runner, "shear wind."
[2]CITATION[CLOSE]
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York, Harper & Row, 1956. Print Early Origins of the Shairwan family
The surname Shairwan was first found in
Nottinghamshire at Bramcote, a parish, in the union of Shardlow, S. division of the
wapentake of Broxtow.
[3]CITATION[CLOSE]
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print. However, we must look to
Oxfordshire to find the earliest listings as the
Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed: John Surewyne; and William Surewyne as both residing there at that time.
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)But it is Nottinghamshire that the lion's share of the family claim descent. "Sherwin was a well known name in Nottingham two centuries ago. Between 1623 and 1716, five mayors of that town bore this name." [4]CITATION[CLOSE]
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Early History of the Shairwan family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shairwan research.
Another 200 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1550, 1581, 1581, 1607, 1687, 1645 and 1709 are included under the topic Early Shairwan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Shairwan Spelling Variations
Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore,
spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Shairwan family name include Sherwin, Sherwyn, Sherwins and others.
Early Notables of the Shairwan family (pre 1700)
Another 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Shairwan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Shairwan family to Ireland
Some of the Shairwan family moved to
Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 86 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Shairwan family to the New World and Oceana
For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for
Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Shairwan surname or a spelling variation of the name include : John Sherwin who arrived in New
England in 1679; John Sherwin arrived in New York in 1820; John, Thomas and William Sherwin, all arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1840 and 1870..